Stadiumlinks is a company that goes around the country transforming football stadiums and major…read moreleague ballparks into target golf facilities. It's a really cool concept. They set up shop inside the Atlanta Braves' new ballpark, SunTrust Park, from October 25 to 29, 2017. I played on Sunday, October 29, 2017.
I found out about Stadiumlinks through a Stadiumlinks Facebook post that one of my friends commented on and tagged me in. As an avid golfer and a casual fan of spectator sports, the opportunity to play golf in a professional sports arena was one I could not pass up. I immediately signed up to be on Stadiumlinks' mailing list to be notified of when tee times would become available. On Friday, September 29, 2017, I received an email that said tee times would become available on a first come, first served basis the following Tuesday, October 3, 2017 at 12:00 PM ET. The email said over 8,000 people were "waiting to register for an extremely limited number of tee times" ... "so consider this a friendly warning to register early."
I booked our foursome a tee time just before 1:30 PM ET on October 3rd. At that time, many tee times were taken, but there were still several preferable times available. I booked our foursome the standard package which cost $399.90 total or about $100 per person. Expensive. Ticket prices for Stadiumlinks weren't revealed until the tee times were made available. You could only see them when you proceeded to find and book a tee time.
We were instructed to park in the Red Deck at SunTrust Park where parking is free for the first 4 hours. Entry was at the Chop House Gate. Stadiumlinks' makeshift "clubhouse" was the Chop House itself. We waited inside the Chop House until our group was called to tee off. Our tee time was 12:24 PM, but they were running ahead of schedule, so we got to start shortly before noon.
Little information was provided by Stadiumlinks on what exactly to expect. It was evident from the pictures that we would be hitting balls from the stands, but would we be playing on the field as well? We were all surprised and - I'm probably speaking for everyone in our foursome - felt ripped off when we were each handed a bag of 9, and only 9, balls to use on the "course." Seriously? That meant each ball cost $11.11 -- more than double the price of a brand new Titleist Pro V1! These balls weren't new either. They were Bridgestone golf balls, a good brand, but some of my balls were dirty and/or scuffed. At the price we paid, I expected better.
Like Tour pros heading to a playoff, we were carted to the 1st tee where a man greeted us and explained the game and its scoring system. There were 9 greens laid out in the park's outfield. There was a marker at each tee box that told us which green was the target, via 9 distinct flag colors, and how many yards away each flag was. Yardages were unadjusted meaning the extreme elevation changes from hitting from the stands were not taken into account. This threw off our club selection.
Scoring worked as follows:
Eagle (-2): Hole in one
Birdie (-1): Inside target ring
Par (E): On the green
Bogey (+1): Missed the green, but on the field (green area)
Double bogey (+2): Off the field (brown area and beyond)
The scoring system was a little wonky, but we ultimately didn't care as we were really in it for the unique experience. The holes worked their way from the lower levels (section 100 seats, I believe) all the way to the upper deck (section 400 seats). Signs showed us the way from tee box to tee box. The tee boxes were laid out so that we pretty much hit from every angle and level of the stadium. As I recall, the shortest holes were just over 110 yards and the longest hole was around 160 yards. After adjusting for the tens to hundreds of feet in elevation change, these yardages were reduced significantly.
You could bring your own clubs, but woods weren't allowed. We just used the sets of Mizuno irons that were available at every tee box. To our disappointment, the sets were incomplete and inconsistent from hole to hole. I specifically remember needing an 9-iron and not finding one in the bag.
It only took us an hour to play all 9 holes. Purely from a golf perspective, Stadiumlinks is no better than Topgolf. At least at Topgolf, you've got the technology (chips in balls for tracking), touchscreen scoring, TVs, servers with food and drink, and, not to mention, lots of balls. The only thing that sets Stadiumlinks apart is the one-of-a-kind venue. At $100, you're paying for the novelty of the experience. On a typical Saturday, I'd rather spend half that for 18 holes on a decent course. You could spend even more money on a VIP package upgrade that included things like practice bays, 2 balls per hole instead of 1, and chipping and putting challenges.
Despite all the problems, in the end, I had fun and I really enjoyed the rare and perhaps once-in-a-lifetime experience of hitting golf balls from the upper deck of a major league ballpark.